According to the National Geography Standards, set forth by the National Geographic Society, "The geographically informed individual is a person who sees meaning in the arrangement of things in space and applies a spatial perspective to life situations." The geographically informed person knows and understands:

The World in Spatial Terms

How to use maps and other geographic representations, tools, and technologies to acquire, process, and report information from spatial perspective

How to use mental maps to organize information about people, places, and environments in spatial context

How to analyze the spatial organization of people, places and environments on earth's surface

Places and Regions

The physical and human characteristics of place

That people create regions to interpret earth's complexity

How culture and experience influence people's perceptions of places and regions

Physical Systems

The physical processes that shape the patterns of earth's surface

The characteristics and spatial distribution of ecosystems on earth's surface

Human Systems

The characteristics, distribution, and migration of human populations on earth's surface

The characteristics, distribution, and complexity of earth's cultural mosaics

The patterns and networks of economic interdependence on earth's surface

How the forces of cooperation and conflict among people influence the division and control of earth's surface

Environment and Society

How human actions modify the physical environment

How physical systems affect human systems

The changes that occur in the meaning, use, distribution, and importance of resources

The Uses of Geography

How to apply geography to interpret the past

How to apply geography to interpret the present and plan for the future

If you want to use a variety of skills and techniques to understand and analyze economic, social and political events and problems, and work to shape your community, state and nation; if you are concerned about the environment; if you like to travel; if you like maps; if you would like an organizing theme to direct your wide-ranging interests, then geography is the discipline for you!